The Adventure of the Wolf and the Diamond
by helplesslynerdy
Summary: The Doctor is revisited by one of his most worthy opponents ever, the Bad Wolf. A Sherlock Holmes AU- Victorian Era.
1. Prologue & Part One

**_Prologue_**

Snowflakes lazily drifted to the muddied cobblestones of the street. A streetlamp cast a dull glow over the fog rolling in from the Thames. The staccato of horse's hooves echoed from nearby alleys. All was otherwise silent on this dreary winter evening.

A single-paned window slowly slid open. A figure, completely clad in black, hood obscuring any view of its face, crawled outside the frame and swung the leather cylinder it was carrying around its back. It briefly surveyed the quiet borough of London from the rooftop before disappearing into the night.

 ** _Part One_**

Donna rapped on the door. "Doctor?" She shifted the tray she was carrying to her hip and knocked a little louder. "Doctor! Open this door, or so help me…" Nothing. _Well, serves him right._ She set the tray down on the floor, lifted her skirts, and kicked the door in.

A dank musk wafted out of the room causing her to cough. The thick curtains were drawn, keeping the room completely dark. Donna felt for the nearest table and pushed the contents to the floor to make room for the tray. She made her way to the window and pulled back the curtain, flooding the room with light. A slight moan came from the wingback chair near the fireplace. _Couldn't even be bothered to keep the fire going._ She opened a window hoping the wintry air would clear the mustiness.

"Are you trying to kill me?" The Doctor curled his limbs in, trying to protect himself from the offending light.

"Well, it wouldn't kill you to air this place out once in a while. And maybe eat something, you skinny streak of nothing." She picked up a pinstriped waistcoat between her index finger and thumb and quickly dropped it in a massive pile of clothes in the opposing chair from him.

"I feed much better on the running." His bottom lip protruded in a pout, as he overdramatically threw his arm over his eyes.

"Well then, I suppose this should cheer you up, you mope. Seems we had a burglary down the street last night."

He had only a hand covering his eyes and started to slowly rub his temples with his middle finger and thumb. "Wilf lose his telescope again?"

She scoffed, not willing to take the bait. "No. Granddad has missed you stopping by his stand, though why he likes your company I'll never know."

The lips under his hand pulled into smug grin. "Haven't seen you leaving yet."

"Turns out it is difficult to get a secretarial job elsewhere these days. Besides, I would be afraid to subject anyone else to you. First day and they'd be out the door without a fair-thee-well." Donna smiled at the Doctor as he moved his hand from his eyes and glared.

He huffed. "Hate to have to train someone else anyway. So what's this grand burglary? Nothing to pique my interest, I'm sure."

"Oh, just a little art theft. Seems someone stole van Gogh's _Vase with 12 Sunflowers_ from a private collector's home last night. A Mrs. Williams, I believe." She dropped the newspaper in his lap and her mouth quirked into a smirk as he pulled his spectacles out of his dressing gown and scrabbled to open the paper.

She picked up his tea and handed it to him, which he took without looking up. "I reckon that Inspector Smith will send for you within the hour."

"Right!" The Doctor jumped up, pulling the pinstriped waistcoat from the pile. "No harm in being preemptive. _Allons-y_ , Donna Noble!"

The Doctor and Donna entered the Williams' residence to see several policemen filing around the house, some using new kits to dust for fingerprints, others taking notes of the positions of furniture and belongings in the room. The Doctor's eyes swept the room, already cataloguing what he observed.

Inspector Smith approached them, hand extended. "Doctor."

The Doctor failed to acknowledge the Inspector's presence, and Donna elbowed him in the ribs, taking the Inspector's hand herself.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Miss Noble."

"I'm sorry about the manners of this one. But what do you expect when a person insists on calling himself 'The Doctor'?" She shook her head.

"I'm so sorry, Rickey." The Doctor said, while brushing past him to look at the mantle that had previously held the painting. "This was where the painting was, then?"

Inspector Smith rolled his eyes at the erroneous name and walked forward to join him. "Yes. The Williams family was asleep when it happened. Good thing, too. I'd hate to see what Mrs. Williams would have done had she caught the thief in the act."

The Doctor had already whipped out his spectacles and was examining the outside window. "The thief has obviously dealt with these latches before. Extremely difficult to open from the outside unless one knows what to do." He leaned outside the window, assessing the escape route. "Also would have to be something of an acrobat to get across to that drainpipe. But those types are quite ubiquitous these days." The Doctor silently assessed the contents of the room until he happened upon a small mirror sitting near the mantle.

A young redheaded woman burst into the room. "How long are you constables going to be scouring my room instead of catching the thief? Hmm? And who's this, now?"

The Doctor kept looking the mirror without turning around. "I'm the Doctor."

"A doctor of what?" She whirled around to the constable, finger pointing in his face." And what do you need with a doctor to find my painting?"

"Just the Doctor," he said, eyes scanning the rest of the room.

Inspector Smith shook his head. "He is a consultant with the Yard, Mrs. Williams. And this is his assistant, Miss Donna Noble."

Donna patted Mrs. Williams' arm. "He claims he's got a doctorate in quite a few things, bless him." She then whispered, "Despite the disheveled appearance, and the penchant for nicknames, that man uncannily figures things out. He always picks up on things that others can't. But you won't hear me saying that unless I'm sure he's not paying attention."

"Well, you truly can't blame me for being hesitant. And all the more pity for you, Miss Noble." Mrs. Williams said, taking in the Doctor, who was now crawling along the floor. Donna laughed.

The Doctor, having been completely oblivious to the conversation, hopped back up in front of Mrs. Williams. "Mrs. Williams, why are these mirrors set up around the room like this?"

She looked around the room, seeing the odd positions of the small mirrors around the room. "They have been moved." Confusion crossed her face. "I swept over this room only yesterday."

The Doctor ran to the window and pulled the drapes fully open. An image of a wolf appeared on the wall where the painting had hung. Tongue resting against his back teeth, a grin spread across the Doctor's face. "Oh, Bad Wolf. How I have missed you."

"Bad Wolf?" Donna asked.

Inspector Smith found the little wolf figure that had cast the image. "Bad Wolf was a cat burglar. One of the best- never caught. Never even a hint of who it was. Always left a calling card, though. The messages have never been this elaborate, however."

"It has been close to ten years." The Doctor took the little wolf figure from the inspector's hand. "That was one of my first attempts to work with the Yard. Ended badly- I was told if I ever said another word about that case, I would be exiled to Australia. Couldn't get close enough to the evidence afterwards to solve it. Always a regret of mine…"

"And that is the only time I've ever seen you have the least bit of affection for somebody. A criminal you never caught." Donna teased.

The Doctor looked sideways at her. "Anyway, this beamsplitting is new."

"Beamsplitting?" Donna asked.

"An old stage trick. Set up a series of mirrors, you get a projected image. Used for ghosts and the like. But why would Bad Wolf use that?" He absentmindedly tugged on his left ear. "There's also a smudge of white on the corner of this mirror. If my powers of observation are correct, and they indubitably are, this is greasepaint. The same kind of greasepaint used in professional theatrical makeup."

"I knew that troupe was going to be trouble." Mrs. Williams interjected.

"What? What troupe?" The Doctor asked.

"There's an American acting troupe working down the street at the previously abandoned Valiant Theatre," Inspector Smith said. "Some of the locals haven't taken kindly to an American group trying to perform Shakespeare in modern dress."

"It's not the actors I'm worried about, it's the neighbor's moaning I have to hear." Mrs. Williams explained. "They can't abide my little Melody making a peep, let alone an acting troupe invading their quiet corner. Though I never imagined it would come to something like this."

The Doctor looked at Donna skeptically before speaking. "Bad Wolf wouldn't be so obvious. If even I couldn't trace them, do you think that they would choose something so sloppy? Let alone leave traces of stage makeup? Besides, I thought you said the troupe was comprised of Americans!"

Inspector Smith shrugged. "They've incorporated a few British actors, as well. Maybe it is a copycat. Or it could possibly be that a decade has caused a change in methods. Would it hurt to check?"

"I suppose not, but I will not waste time on false leads." The Doctor sniffed.

The inspector looked to the ceiling before leading the way out the door.

The Valiant was a mere three-block walk from the Williams' townhouse. Inspector Smith opened the door to the theatre, and the Doctor and Donna followed him inside.

"This isn't half-haunted looking," Donna said, eyes warily scanning the surroundings. The theatre was dark, with a few footlights breaking the darkness of the stage. Statues of angels with their faces covered hung from the walls, guarding the hundreds of plush seats filling auditorium.

Donna felt a hand on her shoulder and she shrieked.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, dearie. I forgot how positively mediaeval this old place can be." They turned to see a hunched old woman in a heavy cloak. "Are you looking for someone?"

"We're looking for the head of the company, ma'am." The inspector piped up.

"Oh, Jack? Let me go and fetch him. Always on the move, that one." She winked at Donna before climbing the stage and slipping behind the curtain.

"Seems a bit old to be working at a theatre," Inspector Smith said under his breath.

"Rude." Donna frowned at him. "You're getting to be just as bad as this one!"

Some lights came up, and a young man strode through the curtain. He was tall, with dark hair and cerulean eyes. Donna gaped a little while Inspector Smith reached for the man's hand. "Inspector Smith of Scotland Yard, and this is the Doctor and Donna Noble."

"Jack Harkness." He shook both men's hands and then turned to Donna. "Doctor, you have quite a beautiful wife."

"Oh, no, we're not married." Donna said, a little breathlessly.

Jack's answering roguish grin melted her insides to molasses. "Well, that's very good news." He took her left hand and kissed it, making Donna blush.

"Anyway," the Doctor said, interrupting, "we're here to talk to you about a burglary that happened down the street."

"Oh, really? I hate to hear that. I suppose you'll want to talk to all of us, then?"

Inspector Smith nodded. "If you wouldn't mind."

"I'll go round up the rest of them. Some may be still in makeup. We're doing the Scottish play tonight. Ah, I believe you've already met Rose?"

"Was she the elderly woman?"

Jack laughed. "Yes, she's playing all three witches tonight. We've been using a much smaller group of actors than usual to perform the play."

Jack led them behind the curtain and through the sets. Rose was hunched over a bag, rifling through it.

"Rose, let me properly introduce you to the Inspector and his associates."

She stood to full height, and they noted she wasn't actually hunchbacked. She pulled her hood back, and as she turned, they saw a beautiful blonde woman of about twenty-five years standing before them.

"Hello, my name is Rose Tyler."


	2. Part Two

Donna gaped. " _The_ Rose Tyler? The breakout sensation of last season's theatre circuit? Oh, I saw you in _Pygmalion and Galatea_! Your Galatea was positively brilliant!"

Rose's mouth turned into a small smile. "Thank you. I loved the part."

Inspector Smith stammered, "Uh, Miss Tyler, I'm Inspector Michael Smith of Scotland Yard, and this is Miss Noble and the Doctor."

Rose paused, not turning to look at the Doctor immediately. When she did, she silently took him in, crown to heel, before asking, " _The_ Doctor?"

The Doctor did nothing to contain his smugness. "I suppose you have read some of my exploits. Donna here always tends to take a bit of a romantic view-"

"Oi! You don't see him complaining about how much more work he's received _since_ I began writing for him. If I didn't make him look better, he'd be out of work in a week!"

Rose eyes swept over the Doctor again briefly before she squared her shoulders. "If you want to speak to all of us, I'm going to go clean off the rest of this makeup beforehand, if you wouldn't mind. The others should be ready." She then walked offstage and exited through a side door.

Inspector Smith's gaze stayed in the direction of Rose's departure, and Donna cleared her throat softly. Inspector Smith looked back to them, a tinge redder. "Right. The Doctor and I will have a bit of a look around the theatre while everyone is rounded up. Could you come and get us when everyone is ready, Donna?" Donna's mouth settled into a flat line, and Inspector Smith smiled charmingly. "Thanks ever so much."

Donna rolled her eyes as the inspector realized the Doctor was already gone and jogged after him. _Well, wouldn't hurt to do a little investigating of my own while they're gone…perhaps run into a certain gentleman on the way?_ She was engaged but not _dead_ , and Mr. Harkness was one of the handsomest men she had ever seen.

Holding her skirts high above the dusty wood flooring, Donna stepped behind a black curtain and bumped into a flat with forest scene painted on it. She quickly assessed the canvas to make sure no damage was done and crept deeper into the darkened hallway. She saw a sliver of light and heard bits of a hushed yet heated conversation. A man was whispering "It's the only way…why do you care what they think...your silly infatuation with that man!" Donna couldn't quite make out the woman's side of the conversation. As she snuck closer, the door suddenly swung open and Donna ducked behind a nearby screen. Jack Harkness strode out of the room, slamming the door shut, and walked past Donna without noticing her.

Donna breathed a sigh of relief. She then craned her neck around the screen, wanting to see who the woman on the other side of that conversation had been. She crept to the door that had reopened from the force of the slam, and just as she was about to peek inside-

"Donna? DONNA!" Donna ground her teeth and stepped back from the doorway. _Perfect timing, as always._ After reaching a safe answering distance she shouted, "I'm COMING."

The Doctor hadn't found anything of interest to the case and was quickly disengaging from paying attention to the cast. Several had worked there last night, but as an acting troupe, they all provided each other's alibis. None of them were the type to be Bad Wolf, or even Bad Wolf's imposter. They seemed to be as pure as the driven snow. _Or at least too dull to be a thief of the highest caliber_. Except for the stagehand that had been limping. With a charred boot and a ticket from Chelsea hanging out of his right pocket. There had been an explosion at the known headquarters of an infamous gambling ring in Chelsea the evening before. _They might want to keep an eye on that chap._

He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. _I need to go back to the crime scene, possibly without the inspector. There may have been something his bumbling lackeys missed._ The Doctor shouted for Donna, ready to leave. Donna came back onto the stage, eyes blazing. A few moments later, a dark-haired young woman followed from the same door Donna had.

Donna came to stand beside the Doctor, who immediately chided her, "I thought I told you, rule one: never wander off."

Donna leveled a glare at him. "I can handle myself, ta. Besides, I think I might have overheard-"

Rose Tyler reemerged to the stage, in a short-sleeved white lace top with a high-waist pink silk skirt, her hair pulled into a loose bun. Donna's voice slowly faded into the background of the Doctor's consciousness as he took in her form.

 _Small figure, a bit…shapely, albeit with a toned physique. What kind of exertion would cause an actress to be trim like a common laborer? Short fingernails and callouses, also denoting working frequently with her hands. Hair altered with peroxide-_

Donna smacked his arm, bringing him back from scrutinizing. "Have you heard a word I just said?"

"In a minute, Donna," he answered, still distracted, not noticing Donna's small smile as she noticed the direction of his gaze and the immediate, unsubtle redirection.

He began walking towards the inspector, who was now talking to the dark-haired woman, Gwyneth. The Doctor briefly looked her over. She would be a closer fit, but she had been understudying another production and thus had an alibi of rehearsing with a Welsh actor's guild. Inspector Smith was now asking Jack questions.

The Doctor reached the inspector just as he asked Jack where he had been around 11pm. "I was here last night running lines with Rose."

"And you two were by yourselves?" Inspector Smith asked, his tone attempting nonchalance.

"Yes, we were." Jack smiled wide.

Rose shifted her posture and bit her lip. "We were just running lines."

Jack, not missing a beat, put his arm around her. "So dedicated."

Rose smiled sweetly and deftly moved herself out from under his arm. "All hands, this one."

"Can you blame me?"

"Did you all hear anything or see anything suspicious?" The Doctor interjected.

"No. I'm staying in a room above the theatre, and I didn't leave last night." Rose said.

"I went out for a bit of air around ten, but I didn't see anything." Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't see anything when I left here a little past midnight, either."

Inspector Smith nodded, folding up the paper upon which he had been writing. "Well, if you hear anything, please let us know."

"Will do." Jack said, pulling on his braces.

Donna shyly offered her hand to Rose. "It was so nice to meet you. An honor, really. I'm gushing like a lovey, I'm so sorry."

"No, don't even mention it. It's wonderful to meet you, Miss Noble. Actually, would you like to see a show?" Rose looked to Jack, whose eyes widened briefly before nodding.

"Oh, I'd love it!" Donna impulsively hugged Rose, and then came to herself.

Rose laughed. "And be sure to bring the Doctor with you." She then smiled with her tongue caught in her teeth.

The Doctor stared at Rose's mouth briefly, not knowing why this woman's smile felt so significant. "If we have the time," he brusquely said. "Let's go Donna." He was already halfway up the aisle when Donna caught up to him, grasping his arm. He yelped as she pinched him.

Once they returned to the Doctor's rooms, Donna lit a fire in the sitting room. She turned to see the Doctor already in his designated chair, the firelight flickering across his face. His mouth was leaning against his hands that were braced fingertip to opposing fingertip.

"Are you in your 'among the stars' mode, or can I tell you what I overheard now?" Donna asked, standing up and brushing the bits of wood from her skirt.

The Doctor scoffed. "I do not have an 'among the stars' mode as you so indelicately put it. I am always completely aware of my surroundings. Superior senses, me. But yes."

Donna cocked a skeptical eyebrow but continued. "Well, I was going to look and see what I could find myself and heard a couple in an argument. Mr. Harkness left the room, so I know he was a participant, but I'm not sure who the woman was. They had been arguing about the woman's infatuation with some man, and her unwillingness to say or do something because of what he might think. Do you think it could have possibly been the actress with the brown hair…a Gwyneth, I believe?"

"Perhaps," the Doctor mused. "I would think it more likely for it to have been Rose Tyler, as she was Jack's alibi."

"I would think that you would prefer it to not be Rose Tyler. You could barely take your eyes from her." Donna's eyes danced in amusement. "My little Doctor, finally a grown boy, taking notice of a woman."

The Doctor spluttered. "I will have you know, Donna Noble-"

"No, no!" Donna laughed, gesturing the Doctor to stop. "I do NOT want to know what goes on in that brain of yours when it comes to the 'fairer sex.'"

The Doctor crossed his arms petulantly.

Donna's smile slowly sobered. "But seriously, Doctor, who is this 'Bad Wolf' you and Inspector Smith were referring to?"

The Doctor's eyes lit, much like they did when his violin was held to his chin, or when they were running for their lives. "Oh- Bad Wolf. One of the very few cases that has stretched across a decade. One of my few worthy opponents." The Doctor paused, lips upturning and eyes losing focus with nostalgia.

Donna looked to the ceiling in exasperation. "Well, go on, then! Give us the story."

The Doctor turned back to the fire, his eyes darting as he reversed the years. "Bad Wolf was the first case I offered my services to Scotland Yard. This would have been about, ohhhh, nine years ago? Ten? Close thereabouts. Anyway, there was another inspector I was working with, an Inspector Adams."

The Doctor's face remained impassive, but his clenched fist and white knuckles told another story. "The man couldn't see evidence placed right in front of his nose, let alone find actual clues. Scotland Yard was testing me, seeing if I was actually useful on the field." He shook his head. "Bad Wolf was something different, something like they had never before seen. A thief that left absolutely no trace, even in the messages."

Donna's brow drew together. "I thought you said that all burglars leave a trace- especially in how they leave their messages. 'It is as good as a fingerprint, Donna Noble,' you said!"

A grin spread the Doctor's face. "Well- that is the eventuality of every thief arrogant enough to leave a calling card. But Bad Wolf is the exception to every rule. They never kept a strict _modus operandi_ , which in itself became Bad Wolf's _modus operandi_. People from all walks of life were burgled, and all types of materials were stolen. They only needed to be valuable. And the notes, which were always cleverly done. Like you saw with the beamsplitting, always new. Never the cutout newspapers."

The Doctor lit a pipe that had been lying in his slippers by the chair. Donna grimaced but didn't say a word, silently urging him to continue.

The Doctor lazily blew a smoke ring. "I came in on the case very late. I had begun to see a pattern in the victims of the thefts- many of them were not the rightful owners. They had obtained each piece through the black market. Most of the items turned up again very quickly, but they of course couldn't be returned to the victims."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, left hand still clutching his pipe. "There was this girl, oh about fifteen or sixteen, who showed up around a couple of the crime scenes. You could tell the girl had struggled through life, but she was extremely curious." _A waif, mousy brown hair and lost hazel eyes._ "The inspectors and constables I was working with began to think I was completely mad when I suggested that a young girl like that could be Bad Wolf. A young person would be small enough to crawl into some of the spaces, wouldn't hold to a _modus operandi_ necessarily, because a young person hasn't fully developed his or her personality."

"Did you really think it was that little girl?"

"Not at first," he conceded. "But when she happened to pop around more than two crime scenes, I became a little wary. Inspector Adams thought she had developed an attachment to me." He scoffed lightly, but his eyes seemed almost sad as he turned back to the fire. "I was a little younger and less wise."

Donna reached out, as if to touch him, but he shook his head quickly before running both of his hands down his face, seemingly not noticing her movement. He then faced her again and continued, "Bad Wolf only kept one artifact, an astrolabe. Gorgeous piece of Ottoman handicraft. The girl had expressed an interest in astronomy." _Her small voice catching, telling him of her dream to leave this world and fly to the stars._ "The inspector finally used my kindness towards the girl as an excuse to try and throw me off the case. Insisted I was being…inappropriate. Which was utter rubbish. He couldn't stand the strides I had been making for which he could not take the credit."

"So they never went after that girl?"

"No. Couldn't tie her to it. She disappeared soon afterwards." _He tried to question her, and all that she did was smile, her tongue caught in her…_

The Doctor suddenly jumped up, the contents of his pipe spilling onto the rug.

"Are you completely mental?" Donna cried, stamping the sparks out.

"Donna Noble, go get changed. We are going to the theatre tonight!"


	3. Part Three

The Doctor and Donna pulled up to the theatre in a carriage later that evening. The Valiant Theatre was now fully lit and no longer seemed as ominous. Donna allowed the Doctor to help her out of the carriage, and they made their way up the stone steps, flanked by dozens of other patrons.

The Doctor checked his cloak and her coat, smoothing the shoulders of his oft-neglected tuxedo. It was then, having turned from the offending speck on his sleeve, that he saw Donna's dress for the first time. Her gown was a deep emerald green- off her shoulders, and the 'Gabrielle' cut and lack of a bustle flattered her voluptuous frame. She had her hair pulled into a chignon with an ornate gold comb and loose curls framing her face.

Donna was fiddling with her long gloves when she noticed the Doctor's examination and became a little self-conscious. "Coquette or dollymop?" she whispered behind her fan as he came to her side.

He gave her an approving smile. "Coquette. You look lovely." He offered her his arm, and they ascended the stairs to one of the box seats that had been reserved for them. The Doctor helped Donna to her seat, eyes already scanning the entirety of the auditorium. The lights began to dim as the curtain came up and the play began.

Rose was again unrecognizable in her part of the witch. Donna knew she wouldn't have believed it to be Rose Tyler had she not already known. She lowered her opera glasses for a moment and noticed how the Doctor was singularly staring at Rose. She blocked his view with her glasses, cheekily smiling. "Do you want these? You might be able to able to tell me how many buttons are on her boots."

He muttered under his breath but took the glasses.

Rose was now spinning around the cauldron, the fluidity of her movement mesmerizing as the tattered costume floated around her like so many ribbons. _Motor skills excellent, quick on her feet._ She seemed ephemeral, as if she would truly vanish in a puff of smoke at the end of the scene.

The Doctor leaned back into his chair, the hand holding the opera glasses lowering. "Who are you, Rose Tyler?"

The play ended and the Doctor quickly rose from his seat. "How about we go and have a nice little chat with Miss Tyler?" He opened the door to the box only to find Inspector Smith standing there.

"Well, well. The Doctor. A mite odd to find you here tonight. Especially after so abruptly leaving this afternoon."

Without missing a beat, the Doctor replied, "You know very well that Miss Noble and I are frequent patrons of the theatre."

"I also know that you don't miss an opportunity," Inspector Smith said, eyeing the Doctor warily. "Well, I had planned on talking to the cast again, anyway. You may as well come along." The inspector turned and began walking down the stairs.

The Doctor and Donna followed. The Doctor grasped Donna's elbow, bringing her closer. "I cannot have the inspector knowing of my suspicions. Especially in light of my being thrown off the previous case because of her. I'm going to need you to provide a distraction."

"Shall I distract him with my womanly wiles?" Donna fluttered her fan and eyelids simultaneously.

"No, no." The Doctor interjected, albeit a little too quickly. "Save those for when we really need to use them. Can you fake a sprain, and I will go in search of a bandage?"

Donna rolled her eyes but nodded. As they neared the end of stairwell, Donna took a fall and began to bellow. "Oh, my ankle!" She then turned to the Doctor. "This is all your fault!"

He saw the mirth in her eyes, but kept his own straight face. "Donna, if you had only been looking where you were going instead of assessing the gentlemen on the lower floor!" He hoped to keep her in character by ruffling her.

Donna's eyes narrowed. She knew he was teasing her, but they had had this argument in reality before- and to poor ends. She could not help but react to the prodding. "Why don't you break from your habitual state and make yourself useful! Ow!"

The Doctor lifted her "injured" ankle a little roughly, but then prodded it gently as if he were truly assessing its condition with Donna wincing at all the right times. "I need to go and look for a bandage to wrap this before we can leave. Inspector, would you be so kind as to get Donna to somewhere where she can wait?"

"Of course." The inspector said, carefully lifting Donna.

The Doctor grinned as he hurried away, listening to Donna's subsequent wails of pain.

The Doctor found Rose Tyler's dressing room, which had light still coming from beneath the door. He silently opened it and let himself into the room. As he turned to shut it, he felt a pointed object being laid against his neck. "Turn around slowly."

He turned to see Rose Tyler holding him captive with a sharper than normal letter opener. She visibly slumped in relief. "Oh, it's you."

"I've already shaved today." The Doctor rubbed his neck, narrowing his eyes at her.

Rose snorted indelicately and tried to mask it as a sneeze. "You soon learn how to protect yourself in this business out of necessity. Some men do not understand…boundaries." She turned to her vanity, laying the opener back on the table. "I was surprised to see you in the box tonight." After his refusal to respond, she turned back to her mirror and seated herself, picking up a cloth to remove the rest of her stage makeup. "What can I do to help you, sir?"

"Where have you been all these years past?" He asked bluntly.

"Sorry?" she asked, setting the cloth back down.

"I knew you, before." His eyes locked on hers in the mirror, but she did not respond, and he continued. "When I was first beginning to work in conjunction with Scotland Yard. Oh, I barely recognized you when I first saw you again. Quite the transformation."

"I'm sure I do not know what you mean." Rose's face was perfectly composed, though she prayed he did not notice the slight tremble of her hands.

The Doctor kept on. "What has it been, nine, ten years? That would make you twenty-four? Twenty-five? Your voice is, of course, deeper and an actress easily hides an accent." He came up behind her where he could better see the reflection of her face in the mirror. "I know you were that girl from so many years ago. Your hair may have been brown and you were…less pleasingly proportionate." His eyes broke away from hers briefly, and he tugged on his slightly misshapen ear. Rose was thankful for the break, as a blush had risen in her cheeks. She began making short work of removing the rest of her makeup.

The Doctor locked on to her small break, daring to draw closer to her. "I would have always eventually recognized that smile had it been fifty years ago."

Rose stood from her stool and came to stand in front of him. She silently appraised his face before answering. "I suppose it was foolish to think that you would not remember." She abruptly turned and stepped behind her dressing screen.

The Doctor immediately turned around. "So where did you go?"

A rustle of silk. After a brief pause, she answered, "A little bit of everywhere. I'm sorry, sir, but I am quite sure the particulars are not any of your concern."

She came back from behind the screen, in a silver dressing gown. "I know this is an investigation, and you have previously suspected me of thievery. I would hate to think that you are making that assumption again, as I am not responsible for what happened last night."

The Doctor's voice became lower, almost a growl. "Quite suspicious, that- you reemerge just as Bad Wolf does."

He was surprised to see sadness in Rose's eyes instead of indignation. "You used to be much kinder."

He took a small step back but then hardened his features. "Humanity has done little to encourage my faith in it."

"I had hoped you would have thought better of me." Her head dropped a little in resignation. "I would like to retire now, if you wouldn't mind."

"I have not finished with you." He leaned slightly over her.

Her eyes shot up to his, blazing. "I have with you for now." Rose walked over to the door and opened it. "Goodnight, Doctor."

He walked through the door without a word. Rose closed it and leaned her forehead against the cool, smooth wood.

The Doctor quickly strode back along the hallway, completely forgetting the bandage for Donna's false injury. He was convinced that Rose was Bad Wolf, but her words had nonetheless cut through the armor that he had collected over the years. _She could be using her knowledge of my previous nature to try and manipulate me. And yet..._

A man and woman talking interrupted his musing. He pulled the curtain away just enough to see Jack Harkness holding Gwyneth by the shoulders. The Doctor couldn't make out what was being said between the two, but Jack looked absolutely desperate while Gwyneth had her hands wrapped around herself tightly. He then dropped his hands from her shoulders and murmured something even more softly, but tenderly. Gwyneth shook her head and buried her face in Jack's chest and his arms came up to hold her close. A confused look crossed the Doctor's face as he slipped back behind the curtain. _What is between those two?_ After the unfruitful conversation with Rose, and now this mysterious exchange, the Doctor was less sure of his initial impressions.


	4. Part Four

Donna was burrowed into her covers, relishing that peaceful knowledge that she did not have to get out of her warm, soft bed just yet. The dawn was slowly breaking through the openings on her draperies, and she figured on about another hour before himself would be trying to drag her on another of his daft chases. Her idyllic morning was interrupted by a thudding noise of someone quickly climbing the stairs. The sound grew steadily louder as it neared her door, and she preemptively shouted, "Don't you dare even _think_ that you're coming in here to wake me up!"

She could almost hear the Doctor's pout. "Donna, there's been another burglary! We have to leave immediately!"

"Is the scene of the crime going to get up and go on holiday?"

"No, but…"

"No 'buts'! I refuse to be at a crime scene before seven in the morning! I will get ready to be there at eight!"

"Seven-thirty?" The Doctor's voice had risen to almost a squeak in his pleas.

"Seven forty-five and not a minute earlier! Now go away and do something productive like cooking some breakfast!"

Donna could hear his muttered threats that she could find employment elsewhere taper off as he sulkily thumped back down the stairs.

Close to seven-fifteen Donna made her way into the kitchen where the Doctor had made up breakfast. Toast with marmalade, but that was definitely progress for a person who often forgot meals. The Doctor was leaning back in a chair with his feet propped up on the table, his fingers absentmindedly moving from the jar to his mouth as he looked out the window. Donna had insisted on hiding the marmalade she used, and as he was in the room, she opted to just butter her toast. She poured herself some tea and sat opposite him.

"So, Bad Wolf again, eh?" The more that the Doctor tried to look disinterested, the more her curiosity was piqued. "By the bye, you never told me all of what was said when you questioned Miss Tyler. "

The Doctor finished licking off his fingers and set the jar on the table. "I got very little from her."

Donna waited and when he didn't continue, she asked, "Was she the girl from your past?"

"Yes."

She nodded to herself. "Do you still think that she is Bad Wolf?"

He finally turned and looked at her. "Yes. Welllll, most likely."

Donna's eyebrows rose. "You never second-guess yourself."

"And I wouldn't be, except…" He ruffled his already disarrayed hair. "When I accused her, she told me she did not do it. Before, she would change the topic or grin and skip away whenever I would blatantly ask her if she committed the crimes." He let out a breath and looked again out the window. "When I pressed the issue, she was genuinely wounded."

She stood and took her glass over to their sink. "Maybe she's changed. Maybe this isn't her- couldn't it be an imposter?"

"People don't change, Donna."

"Oh, I don't know." She walked over to the Doctor and lightly tousled his hair. "You changed since I met you. You used to be all grousing and misanthropic. Could barely get a full sentence from you without a glower. Look at you now, having a whole civil conversation with one of us mere mortals!" Her face sobered a little as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe she just wanted the same kind of faith from you." She squeezed his shoulder and went to get her hat and coat. The Doctor continued to sit in contemplative silence.

"Are you coming or are you going to sit there all morning?"

They arrived at the Eddison's house a hair after seven forty-five, as the Doctor could not find his spectacles. Inspector Smith came outside to join them. "Jewelry this time. The famed Firestone. Lady Eddison has taken to her room and will not be joining us."

"All the better. Have you found any messages?"

"Not as of yet, but why else do I keep bringing you on?" The inspector smiled as the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You do not deserve the likes of me. Especially when I'm not on the payroll!"

Inspector Smith's smile pinched into a straight line. "You need me as much as I need you, as well you know."

The Doctor waved his hand in a seemingly dismissive way, yet it was very much a concession.

"Right, then." The inspector led them into a small, windowless room.

The Doctor spun around, taking in everything as quickly as possible. "This is new! Bad Wolf usually uses balcony doors or windows! Is the chimney in use?"

"Lady Eddison said it is not," the inspector confirmed. "And a person could fit through it."

"No shoe impressions, I'm assuming?"

"None that we could find. The chimney was clean and no soot was dropped into the room."

"And the items were kept in a safe?"

"Yes. Under that shelf. There were no fingerprints, just the normal markings of any burglar's tool kit."

"Of course." The Doctor was already moving things on the shelves, looking for a clue. Donna walked into the room and closed the door.

The Doctor's eyes settled on the door, and he ran across the room to it. There were tiny prick marks similar to those of a wasp's stinger near the top spelling out 'Bad Wolf.'

The Doctor grinned in spite of himself as his fingers lightly traced the holes. "Could have been bored by any little instrument. Not a trace of a shaving. Just brilliant." A confused look suddenly crossed his face, and he looked about the room. "Is everything in its proper place? Nothing moved?" _No furniture to speak of- and no way to create the leverage needed for someone 1.65 meters tall to reach this. This would have had to be someone at least 1.8 meters in height._

"No, Lady Eddison said that nothing had been moved or misplaced."

The Doctor's tongue rested on the back of his upper teeth. _Maybe it isn't…_

The Doctor clucked his tongue and rolled down from the balls of his feet. "Tell me- how long has the Firestone been with the family?"

Pages quickly turned as Inspector Smith looked through his notes. "Lady Eddison claims for forty years. She acquired it in India from a friend. Even has paperwork proving she received it through legal means. They're trying very hard to crack down on the black market through India."

"So, it is legitimately theirs?" The Doctor's brow furrowed.

Inspector Smith looked a trifle confused. "Yes, does that mean something?"

"It may." The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck distractedly.

Inspector Smith looked to Donna who shrugged.

"Well, I think I've got as much as I can from this, Inspector." The Doctor buttoned his long coat. "I will be off."

"Now hold on, you haven't even said much of anything yet! Usually you want to impress me with a mouse's footprints you find!" The inspector was completely flabbergasted.

The Doctor shrugged. "First time for everything. Ms. Noble?"

Donna looked as chagrined as possible at the Doctor's oddities and followed him outside.

Once they were secured into a hansom cab, Donna turned to the Doctor. "What was that all about? Why did you decide to leave so abruptly?"

"I found some things that may be pointing in another direction." His eyes scanned the steadily growing masses of people as the morning continued. "I have some things I need to do. Preferably alone."

"Well, you could have said that before dragging me out without an explanation. Perhaps I had somewhere I wanted to go." Donna huffed, pushing the brim of her hat forward and tucking a pin back in place.

"Did you now?" The Doctor's eyes were wide with feigned innocence.

Donna scrunched her nose. "No, but you could think to ask once in a while."

The Doctor, despite his small smirk, was still distracted. Donna laid a hand on his arm. "You will remember what I said this morning, yeah? Maybe Miss Tyler has turned over a new leaf. Try to give her the benefit of the doubt."

He didn't respond, and after a moment Donna turned to take in the bustling streets of London.

After seeing Donna home, the Doctor had the cab take him back to the Valiant, but by a back route. Once disembarked, he slipped back into an alleyway behind the shadow of a street vendor's cart. He crouched down behind a barrel of apples and waited.

Waited for Rose Tyler to appear.

The evidence wasn't aligning as it should. And a piece of him, that he would much rather not recognize, wanted to take Donna's advice. But there was always another part of him, definitely the larger part, which had seen so much in this world. Enough to harden him and make him not believe that humans were capable of change. If she wasn't involved with this new slew of crimes attributed to the Bad Wolf, there wasn't any guarantee that she wasn't up to something of her own. And what better way to cover up her tracks than if the officials suspected her of something completely different? They'd be so flustered with the mistake that they would hesitate before accusing her of something completely new.

Maybe that's what she's banking on.

That little bit of hope clinging on told him he shouldn't be crouched in this alleyway, but he stifled that, as well.

The Doctor has been watching the two entrances, front and side, from his vantage point when he felt a tickle across his ankle that almost made him yelp. He looked down to see a tiny yellow tabby purring furiously as it tried to claim him as friend territory. Quiet shoos and gentle swatting almost kept him from seeing the flash of blue exiting the side door.

With muttered curse he was in pursuit. The nigh-empty side street now seemed as if it were preparing for a lavish parade for all of the congestion. He narrowly dodged a handcart, eyes still intent on that rich blue not a hundred metres ahead. Yapping dogs and the whiz of a metal hoop being whacked with a wooden stick by a couple of boys almost deterred him again. He was able to turn on his heel and duck down a side street that might head off her path.

As he neared the edge, he pulled up, breath held in anticipation of her quick step. He wasn't disappointed and leapt back into the shadows lest she catch a glimpse of him. If he wasn't mistaken, she was headed towards the museum.

Perhaps to plot her next move.

He was about to follow her when suddenly the Doctor was blinded by a flurry of feathers. A woman holding two live chickens by their feet had ambled by when the chickens jointly decided that they were having none of it. He cowered back; arms protecting his head as she finally got the birds calmed enough to pass him. Brushing his tweed suit coat, the Doctor tilted his head up, trying to catch sight of Rose Tyler over the din.

She was gone.

His eyes momentarily narrowed in frustration. She couldn't be far. And his tracking skills were well above par, should he say so himself. But he wasn't being led through docks past any decent hour about to steal a boat- this was just following a woman walking on foot.

The Doctor ducked behind a pile of lumber lest she possibly see him first and scanned what he could from his hiding place. His mind was made up to try and find her in the museum when he felt a light tug at his elbow.

"Lose someone?"

The Doctor's eyes momentarily closed in recognition before he turned to see Rose Tyler crouched down beside him.

He bit the inside of his cheek, but she continued, eyes dancing with mirth, "You know, you might want to try a disguise next time."

With a quick pat to his arm, and before he had a chance to respond, she was up and hurrying into the entrance of the library next to the museum.

The Doctor brushed away stray chicken feathers as he rose to call a hansom cab.


	5. Part Five

The guttural reverberations of a passing barge alerted the Doctor to his whereabouts.

He leaned back, hands resting on a wall in front of him as he acclimated himself to his surroundings. The Thames was particularly pungent; sweaty men were hurling language that gave the cliché credence, and the breeze coming up off the water ruffled his hair as he stared off into the distance. The stone wall he was leaning on chilled his arms, but he paid it no attention.

He remembered tipping the cabby, but then his feet had propelled him forward as his thoughts closed off his eyes and ears to all around him as he thought about the case, the Bad Wolf…and Rose Tyler.

The secluded spot by the river was a regular haunt of his- a place where he could use the anonymity of such a public place to think. Raking a hand through his hair, he allowed his thoughts again to drift to the actress, possible thief, and constant enigma.

The library. She had headed into the library instead of the museum. She had known he would continue to watch her, so the move might have been a deliberate one just to spite him.

How had she slipped behind him so quickly? Was he losing his focus? The girl was quite clever, but now the Doctor began to worry that he might have underestimated her brilliance.

Be that as it may, she would never best him in the end.

His oft-ignored stomach gave a reminding grumble. Might head home then. Just as much thinking can be done with some sustenance. His eyes scanned once more over his surroundings.

"Not the best of views, but it will do."

"The _usual_ lack of interruption is one of the more palatable facets." The Doctor looked down to Rose, who was leaning beside him, her small purse dangling on a string over the ledge.

She gave him an acknowledging half-smile, but turned back to the river. "You don't particularly enjoy being caught unawares."

He harrumphed, and her lips upturned even further in profile.

"Not exactly a habit to which I have had to become accustomed." He sniffed lightly before turning himself back to the view.

"I gathered."

The breeze carried whiffs of her perfume- _jasmine and amber_ \- and his eyes closed briefly, committing it to memory.

She pulled in a large breath before continuing. "It is a good thing that I do not make a habit of it." He scoffed, and she made a soft noise, a humming laugh caught in her throat. "Well, present company excluded." A lengthy pause. "There are quite a few things I do not make a habit of, despite what you may think."

 _Why all of the secrecy? How does a mousy girl alter into a self-assured actress that can obviously wield a letter opener as a knife?_ The Doctor's thoughts continued to churn. _What could lead to such a skill set and not have an untoward causation?_

"Why then -" He turned to find that she was already gone. Just a light scent lingered but was quickly carried away on the air.

The Doctor only knew that he stayed there staring for about half an hour due to the chime of Big Ben in the distance. Though his mind had been moving at breakneck speed over everything that had just occurred, it was as if he had spent no time at all thinking.

He didn't gather any more information from her appearance than he did earlier that day.

The fact that she did not want him to think her guilty was not new. But was it just pride, or something different motivating her?

There was no way that she…

It had been too long ago.

His interest in her all those years ago had been totally of a professional nature. If there was any more of a thought set to her, it was for her untapped potential. The brilliance that radiated out from behind her eyes, just begging to be noticed.

But now?

He shook his head, his physical body reacting against even the thought of anything more than that.

If she were not the guilty party, what did she have to do with what was going on now?

What happened to her all of those years ago? Did it have something to do with what was happening now?

The fact that she was still able to catch him by surprise, to hoodwink _him_ of all people, did nothing to stave off his belief that she had been the Bad Wolf then.

Was Jack Harkness blackmailing her into stealing for him? Or did he know of her former exploits, and was he using that knowledge to force her into helping him?

What of the other woman?

The Doctor drew a hand down his face, exasperated. There were too many clues pointing in different directions.

But there was something that he knew he had to do first.

Actually talk to Rose Tyler.

Find out what she had been doing- perhaps it would point to what her current involvement was in the matter.

The Doctor drew his cloak closer about his shoulders against the blast of air up from the Thames. Though he should probably make his way back to Baker Street, he was headed in a different direction.

Towards the Valiant.

The Doctor opened the door to the auditorium that had the lights half up. The stage was a bit more bright, but not as lit as it would be during an actual performance. As he neared the stage, he realized Rose was rehearsing Beatrice's lines in _Much Ado About Nothing_.

"Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence." Rose turned as if she had heard the reply, and retorted, "A dear happiness to women: they would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor. I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me." She crossed her arms in a look of derision.

The Doctor slipped to the doors to the stage, Rose too engrossed to observe him. He stepped on the stage, still unnoticed as Rose's back was to him. He had long trained himself to have a quiet footfall outside of his own home.

"A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours." She gestured, as if encouraging the imaginary audience to join her in jesting.

The Doctor came up right behind her as she continued, "You always end with a jade's trick…" Rose then turned to find herself almost touching the Doctor. His lips were a breath away from hers as he finished in a low voice, "I know you of old."

The air about them surged like the new electric lights, until the Doctor leaned away from her.

The spell broken, Rose's mouth quirked in an embarrassed smile. "That's my line."

"Not in this case."

Rose unconsciously picked at her fingernails before asking, "Why did you come?"

"I had some questions that I didn't get to ask you…before. Quite the disappearing act, that."

She gave a brief nod in acknowledgment of his rarely-given praise, but still eyed him warily. "So I had figured. Why I left as I did. I had heard that there had been another burglary." Her fingers fiddled with the material of her skirt. "Did you come to finally get a full interrogation?"

"Partly." He answered honestly. "Actually, what I really wanted to do was ask you about what had happened in the years since we last met." He tugged at his ear. "I sometimes get a little, what I mean is…I probably could have been a little more- I know that I am sometimes not the most…"

A soft smile graced her face. "I am assuming you are working your way around an explanation of your behavior. Though your skills involving apologizing need a little work." A full grin finally spread.

The Doctor's eyes lingered on her mouth again before answering. "I would hesitate to call it an apology. I am not convinced you are not still involved."

The light left her face. "Oh," she said flatly. "Well, I don't have time for another maypole dance with you." She began to walk away.

"Wait!" He grabbed her wrist to stop her departure. She looked down at his offending hand pointedly, and he let go, lifting both of his hands in surrender. "I meant that I am open to listen to what you have to say."

She considered him before speaking. "All right. But I really do not have the time right now. Perhaps tomorrow evening after the performance?" Misinterpreting his hesitance, she raised her chin defiantly, but with a tinge of amusement. "Unless you're too afraid to tarnish your reputation with an actress? Or even worse, an actress that is a suspected cat burglar?"

The Doctor scoffed. "What people think could not be of less concern to me."

"Well then, until tomorrow?" She reached out her hand, which he hesitantly shook.

As Rose departed behind the back curtain, the Doctor murmured, "Until then, Rose Tyler."


	6. Part Six

"You. Are having dinner. With _the_ Rose Tyler."

The Doctor raked his hand through his hair exasperatedly. " _Yes_ , Donna. Honestly. After all you've seen and all we've done, _this_ is what you have trouble believing?"

Donna seated herself, yarn in hand, in the Doctor's sitting room. "Never thought it possible. Began to think you were from another world or something. And here you are, fallen for a woman you suspect to be a cat burglar." He moved to protest, but she answered before he could get in a word, even as she panted with laughter. "Pardon me, but you have to admit it is HIGHLY unlikely."

"Just a bit unlikely." His mouth quirked involuntarily, as much of an admission as she would get. "Not that I am admitting to forming an attachment to Miss Tyler."

She just smiled, happily knitting along, though the socks she was attempting were nigh-unrecognizable tangles of yarn.

Donna was finishing plaiting her hair as she descended the stairs from her upstairs flat. She was already in her nightgown and dressing gown, ready to turn in for the evening. As she looked down the stairs, she saw the Doctor standing in the foyer, readying himself to leave.

His demeanor was closed off, naturally, but she could see the extra care that had gone into his attire. Everything was atypically cleaned and pressed. The disarray of his hair was a bit neater. The loose sleeve between his fingers was then pulled taught over his wrist as he fastened the cufflink. His tie, however, was still hanging loose around his neck.

She approached him and instinctively began tying a Windsor knot. As her arm brushed his chest while she knotted the fabric, she noted that his heart was rapidly thrumming. _Bless- he's nervous!_ She resisted the urge to make eye contact, not wanting to make him even more uncomfortable.

The tie neatly knotted, she stepped back and gently patted her handiwork. "There." Donna then looked up at the Doctor and smiled softly. "You're going to be fine. I promise she won't eat you alive."

"Of all things, Donna."

She rolled her eyes but didn't allow him to steer her off course. "I know that you don't trust her, but I can tell that you want to. You obviously saw something in her before- try and see if it's not still there, eh?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you trying to match me with every woman who crosses my path? Are you so eager to be rid of me?"

The look she gave him was a little too knowing for his comfort. "I've not tried to push anyone your way, and you know it. Besides," she said with an insufferably smug grin, "not every woman who crosses your path is Rose Tyler. I would not care if you were married and with a full brood- you would still be lost without me here to make sure you didn't burn the place down. Anyone who would have you would have to be half-barmy to put up with you in the first place, so they could not be trusted to keep you in line." She punctuated her statement with a poke to his shoulder. "That is what I am here for."

"Because you're always right," he said, trying to sound sardonic as he pulled on his cloak. He then turned to her, his look softening to fondness. "Goodnight."

"Be kind to her, Doctor," she said as she went to hold the door he exited through. "I want to be able to return to that theatre!"

The Doctor entered the theatre just as the last of the audience had filed out. He held his top hat in his hands and bounced on the balls of his feet as he took in the now empty theatre. A rustling came from his right, and he turned to see Rose approaching him. She was in a black striped dress and matching black cloak. Her hair was wound tightly in braid wrapping around her head with a few stray wisps on either side of her face. A black hat with multiple ribbons forming a large bow to the side topped off the fashionable outfit.

The heavy weight of his gaze caused Rose to shift her position and smile timidly. "Shall we be off then?"

"Of course!" The Doctor awkwardly offered his arm to her, which she took, smiling up at him. He led her outside and into the waiting hansom cab.

They ended up at a small restaurant that catered to those whose employment caused them to keep late hours. Not a few people in here were familiars of the Doctor's due to their unsavory proclivities, but it seemed to be a generally quiet night. At least, he hoped it would stay that way, depending on how his own conversation went.

"Is there something in particular you would like?" she asked as she watched the server near their table. He dismissively waived his hand as if the food choice was inconsequential. She looked at him briefly before ordering a simple dinner for the both of them.

Once the server was out of earshot, the Doctor turned to Rose and asked, "What have you been doing for the past ten years?"

Her chin shifted to the right as her eyes widened the briefest fraction. "You really don't beat about the bush, do you? Well, I supposed that has not changed."

"I thought that was why we were here in the first place."

She sighed. "True enough. Though most men believe that flattery gets them the answers they want quicker."

Those dark eyes settled on her, unwavering. "I am not most men, Miss Tyler."

"No, you're not," she murmured. Clearing her throat, she smoothed the napkin she had set on her lap. "Skipping the pleasantries, then. Very simply, I went home."

"Home?"

"Back to my mother. I had been wandering all over London when we met, trying to earn my keep as best as possible."

"So you said at the time." His back remained rigid, his expression still aloof.

"Well, I was able to earn a little money to take to my mum."

"And I have a notion of how that was."

She set her jaw, eyes firmly fixed upon the tablecloth. "Yes, of that I am well aware."

"Why did you stop, then?"

Rose looked up, eyes flashing. "Where did _you_ go?"

" _Pardon_?" His eyebrows shot up, breaking his stonily placid expression.

"I came back one day. Looking for you- I was soundly informed by that pompous constable that you were no longer on the case."

Now the Doctor avoided eye contact with her. "I was asked to leave."

"Why? You were far more brilliant than any of the buffoons working on those cases!"

Rose knew that the reason was serious when pandering to his ego did not break the tension. "Why, Doctor?" Her voice mirrored that of the broken girl so many years ago.

He tugged his ear and finally looked at her full on. "I was accused of impropriety."

Her brow furrowed for a moment until understanding dawned. "Oh."

With her understanding clear, he again averted his gaze.

She looked about, as if the walls themselves could explain the reasoning to her. "But- but there were no grounds!"

"Of course there weren't," he said bitterly. "But when someone wants to be rid of you, they will find whatever method works with the most speed."

"No wonder you were angry when we saw each other." Rose whispered. "You must have blamed me for not leaving as you asked me to time and again."

The Doctor looked duly chagrined. "No, no. Well, perhaps. I may have. Unconsciously. Which is very hard for someone of my advanced intelligence to achieve, but I- oh, blast." He raked a hand through his hair. "It was not your fault, truly. I should not have told Inspector Adams' superior that he had the insight of an ape reading the natural laws of physics."

Rose's mouth quirked into a small smile, which he hesitantly returned.

Their food set in front of them, they tucked into it, both allowing a tentatively amicable silence to settle within the shop. After finishing, he stood to his feet. "I just realized that we are actually just a ways away from a paper stand that I frequent. As the weather has not turned, would you mind taking a walk?"

She nodded and wrapped her cloak around her shoulders as they exited the restaurant, thankfully unnoticed by some of the less amiable patrons. The cool night air was refreshing rather than biting. This borough of London was quiet as most of its inhabitants had already turned in for the night.

The two kept a good distance between themselves as they walked. The tension that had been strung taut between them hadn't unraveled with the loss of anger- if anything, it had wound even tighter, but with a new, unfamiliar thread.

Rose used the time to sneak glimpses of the Doctor in profile. The Doctor was walking with his hands clasped behind his back, as she pulled at a fray on her small purse. She studied the nose with a slight hook, the mess of his fringe, the sharp angles of his bone structure. He caught her scrutiny, and she quickly turned away, a pink flush creeping into her cheeks. In doing so, she missed the smile that briefly graced his face.

They reached Wilfred's stand, only to find that it had closed for the night. The Doctor looked at Rose with a confused expression. "He usually closes very late. Doesn't want anyone to miss getting his or her papers."

She pulled out her small watch. "Oh! Well, it is after midnight." A shadow crosses her face, which he barely noted before it was gone. "Shall we find another hansom cab to get home? Or are you not through with your interrogation?" She gave him a small grin to let him know it was in jest.

"Actually, I am not. The theatre is not far, we could walk if you are not too tired?"

"I am made of much heartier stuff than that, Doctor. You might as well begin your questioning."

"What else did you do? I mean, how did you become an actress?"

She took in a deep breath, which she let out, the chilly night air crystalizing briefly before vanishing. "Well, I went home to mum, as I told you. Then I- I took your advice." She paused as her mind went back to their last conversation before they disappeared from each others' lives. _"What you have is a gift. Few in this world find their passion, let alone actually use it. Go, be fantastic."_

The Doctor waited with uncharacteristic patience as her eyes glazed with reminiscing. After a quick blink, and an odd flush of her cheeks, she continued, "I tried to go back to school, but they would not let a girl of my age reenroll, well, not without the proper funding. So I taught myself a little from what few books I could get ahold of. I took tests and was even able to sit in several classes at Oxford." He watched as her gaze grew steadier, her eyes fervent. "A little physics, a little astronomy. I loved it. The study of the universe- I felt so insignificant and yet significant in the face of such vastness and complexity." She looked off, her voice faraway. "There is no other field of study quite like it."

As she turned back to him, she immediately bashfully turned again from his resulting infectious smile. "But that's absolutely brilliant! I knew that you were capable! Why did you not continue?"

Her face darkened. "I did not get along with one of the professors." She turned and shrugged, the conciliatory gesture quite out-of-place with her. "Suffice it to say, one small girl from a poor borough of London does not hold much ground against an Oxford fellow."

Before he realized it, he was standing closer her, hands clenched into fists. "Did he force himself on you, Miss Tyler?"

She shook her head, her hand briefly settling on his arm in a soothing gesture. "No, no. He did not. We just had…a disagreement of viewpoints about my academic career. Little to be done about it, now." Her voice became wistful. "But then I became a part of this American acting troupe, and the rest, as they say, is history."

With this, he looked up and realized that they had reached the front of the theatre. He turned and looked down at her. This woman, whatever she may be, should never curl in on herself in this manner.

He gently chucked a knuckle under her chin, bringing her gaze to his. "I can hear the regret in your voice." Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, she blinked hastily as she looked away. "You could always go to another university."

"I've committed to this lot." She gestured towards the theatre, before turning back to him with a small smile. "I do enjoy this aspect of my work."

He nodded, conceding. "Which you do proficiently well. But there is a light about you when you talk of your studies. That curiosity is a gift. Don't waste your brilliance on anything less than what you are meant for."

She stuck her hand out, which the he took, perplexed. "I have waited for you to return. It is so good to see you again, Doctor." Her tongue-in-teeth smile waned, and now sobered, she searched his face. She was standing on the first step to the theatre, so they were almost the same height. Her eyes dropped to his mouth as she murmured, " _My Doctor_." Her free hand cupped his cheek as her thumb trailed along the line of his cheekbone.

The Doctor licked his lips unconsciously as they stared at each other in an impasse. As her hand began to slip from his face, her thumb caught on his bottom lip, causing her eyes to widen in fear that she had gone too far. Before she had a chance to apologize, his own hand darted forward, tangling into the curls at the base of her head, drawing her lips within a hairsbreadth of his own.

Their breath mingled, the moment burdened heavily with the continued inaction. His dark eyes darted back and forth between looking at hers, clearly undecided about this turn of events.

The apprehension there decided it for Rose. She closed the distance, softly pressing her lips to his. After a few moments of gentle pressure on her part, his grip in her hair eased, and he returned it. With his fingers now merely curling around the line of her neck, he rerouted the fervency into his kiss, his head angling for a better fit.

As his other arm finally looped to draw her closer, Rose broke the kiss and stepped back from him. He barely noticed the tear tracking down her cheek before she turned and quickly ran up the steps and into the theater without a backward glance.

The Doctor stood for a moment gaping at the closed door before he stepped into the fog towards his abode.


	7. Part Seven

Rose stood in front of the doors to the rooms she was using. How she got from the Doctor to there, she could not have said. The key in the lock turned, and she entered the small sitting room. She mechanically removed her hat and cloak, hanging them on a nearby hat rack, and then wandered back into her bedroom.

Seeing the Doctor again stirred feelings in her she had assumed long dead. It was a tumultuous mixture of longing and pain. But when had she last felt true happiness? For her, the act of seeking happiness was like a magnet trying desperately to bring to itself the very object it was involuntarily repelling.

Fingers fumbled with the buttons on her boots as her mind transported her to that day so many years ago.

 _The light of the rising sun cast a warm, golden glow on the slowly receding mist, but stung her sleep-deprived eyes. Rose had taken a little bit more care with her appearance than usual. She avoided many of the streets that she would have normally used as shortcuts, not wanting the alleyway grime to smudge her clothing. She had heard that law enforcement had been called to the scene of the latest "Bad Wolf" burglary._

 _She attempted a ladylike stroll, as all women of sixteen were trained to do, but her impatience got to her and she began to run. Wisps began to fall from the pins holding her already haphazardly styled hair. Rose dodged pedestrians and horses as she darted through the London streets. She was nearly run over by a cart, the older man's cursing quickly fading behind her. She looked over her shoulder to make sure she was not being followed and collided into someone._

 _"Oof! Steady on!" Rose had caught herself from falling completely to the cobblestones and looked up at the man she had barreled into. The Doctor. He had caught her around the waist to prevent her from falling. His hair was a bit longer than the popular style, and he was not conventionally handsome. His angular features and wide eyes made him a bit gawkish. His youthfully haughty demeanor softened as a grin spread across his face upon his recognition of her. That easy, yet exuberant smile made him one of the most attractive men that Rose had ever seen. A constable behind them laughed, and the Doctor let go of her. She brushed her hands on her skirt, trying to keep him from noticing the blush that had risen to her cheeks._

 _"So…it's you. Bit of a rush, eh?"_

 _"I was running from a gentleman who failed to look where he was leading his cart."_

 _"And I am sure you did not mean to be in his way."_

 _Rose's mouth pulled into a tight line, trying to rein in her urge to smile._

 _The Doctor eyed her skeptically, but then allowed his features to relax again. "So what brings you this way this morning?"_

 _"I heard there was another burglary." And I wanted to see you as much as possible before I return to my mother. She bit her lip before the words could compulsorily spill from her mouth._

 _"Ah. Not from first-hand knowledge, then?" It had become a kind of joke between them, his belief in her guilt._

 _She allowed the smile that had been fighting its way to the surface to finally break through and shook her head. He shrugged in a conciliatory gesture, the distrust only briefly passing through his brown eyes- a look she tried her best to ignore._

 _She exited the alleyway that they had been standing in and tried to squeeze around him. "So what is it this time?"_

 _The Doctor blocked her from going further. "A copy of the Mona Lisa. Turns out it is genuine, but the owner, a Count Scarlioni, had obtained it through less than honest means."_

 _"So, are you going to finally permit me to see the crime scene?" She walked to either side of him, teasing the imaginary perimeter set up by his presence._

 _"You know I cannot." He seemed slightly more exasperated with her game than usual._

 _Rose dropped the toying tone she had been affecting. "But you never know, I could be helpful! Better with two…"_

 _He came to stand right in front of her, his voice quieting so as not to be overheard. "Why are you here? I can tell that you are worth so much more than what you pretend. More than what you are most likely committing." She looked away from his gaze, hugging herself. "You are brilliant. You really are."_

 _"How could you possibly know that?" she whispered._

 _"All one has to do is listen. Your observational skills are exacting, and you have obviously taught yourself bits of astronomy. The supernova in the Andromeda galaxy that was just discovered? S Andromedae? Only scholars and the like have even paid attention to it, well, outside of Belfast. I can tell you have been devouring every piece of information that you can find. But you also understand it._ That _is the rarity." He backed away towards the steps leading to the house. "Do not waste your intelligence." He then took the steps two at a time with his long legs and was gone._

Rose was now lying in her shift on her bed. She pulled the covers up around her and curled into a small ball, and allowed her tears to again flow.

Donna was surprised when the Doctor had not bounded up the stairs that morning to awaken her. In fact, it was half-past nine when she finally went in search of him. She found him in his small study asleep on a chaise lounge that had seen better days. A leg was dangling off one side, and he was drooling into the lumpy pillow that had lost most of its tassels during its too many years of service. His suit from the previous evening was now rumpled, the jacket cast aside.

She went to pick up the abandoned jacket, and the Doctor started shifting as if he was waking up.

She knew she probably should not tease him at first waking, but she could not help herself. "How late did you get in last night? It's almost ten o'clock in the morning!"

He shifted in confusion and pulled out his fob watch to check the veracity of her statement and subsequently groaned.

She kept on, a devilish glint in her eye. "Should I be scandalized? I want all of the salacious details." She went to open the draperies and turned back to him. The snarky smile that had been so ingrained into her face that he suspected it was permanent began to diminish. "What is that?" She pointed at his face. "Is that… _lip rouge_?"

He scraped his thumb across his lips, the remnants of the traitorous tint smudging onto it.

She began uncharacteristically muttering to herself, the Doctor only picking up snatches of "never believe it" and "end of the universe."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not as bad as whatever you are dreaming up, Donna." She silently turned to him, and he squirmed a bit before continuing, "It was simply a friendly kiss goodbye between…old friends."

"That I will NEVER believe." She began to laugh. "Oh, Doctor. I know you well enough to know that you would have never initiated such contact, and I also know you well enough to know that you are incapable of even _attracting_ that kind of attention from the opposite sex. I would sooner believe you were in costume."

"Now, just a minute, Donna. Just because I may not be as suave as the men in the serials you hide inside your desk does not mean I cannot be the object of someone's affections."

Her face went from indignation to laughter in a moment. "I am sorry!" she cried, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.

He set his jaw peevishly and waited for her to calm herself.

She wiped under her eyes, still giggling intermittently. "What really happened last night, Doctor?"

"In all honesty, I am not sure myself. We merely had dinner and conversed. I walked her back to the theatre, and then she kissed me." He was unable to look at Donna while finishing his statement, his voice incredulous. "I left her around one in the morning."

She scoffed, her face a mixture of faux-shock, and a niggling sense of satisfaction at this turn of events. It set him on edge and he cleared his throat.

She continued, unruffled, "What were you talking about?"

"We were discussing that she should have stayed in university. Anyone with half a brain could tell that she's brilliant, and it would be such a shame for her to squander that…What?" The Doctor stopped as he took in Donna's expression. She had a small affectionate look on her face, as if she were about to swoop him into an embrace. It was not that he did not like to be embraced, mind you, but he normally preferred to know why he was about to be.

"For being one of the most intelligent beings on this Earth, you can be _so_ thick sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"You just told her what every woman wants to hear. That someone believes in her, that someone thinks her extraordinary." She sat down on the ottoman opposite him. "When you have that, it is something to be cherished."

The Doctor gave her a brief half-smile in acknowledgment, his hand momentarily resting on hers.

Donna pushed, though she felt he was ready for the conversation to end. "But it's more than that, is it not? You feel that she's different. Fantastic, even?"

He kept his gaze on their hands.

"I know you don't trust her, but do not let her slip away." She stood and ruffled his hair. She reached the doorjamb and turned. "Oh, I almost forgot! The inspector was just here. He said there has been another burglary."

He leapt to his feet. "What? When? Why did you not tell me that in the first place?"

"I forgot in the hullabaloo of the lip rouge." Donna smirked up at him while he wrinkled his nose at her. "He said for you to come whenever you were ready."

"What time was the crime committed?"

A soft smile spread across Donna's face. "Right before midnight."


	8. Part Eight

The Doctor pulled out the morning paper as they rode in a hansom cab to the newest crime scene. Donna looked at him and rolled her eyes. "You are on your way to a case. Already scouring for the next one?"

He did not even look up. "Might as well. An intellect such as mine requires constant stimulation."

Refusing to inflate his ego any more, she changed the subject. "Anything of interest to me?"

"No. Well- the Koh-I-Noor Diamond arrived in the city early this morning. You may want to see that exhibit, eh?"

"No, thank you. I have a good enough idea of how much richer the monarchy is than me without having to see the evidence."

He smirked. "I am sure they are quite worried now about that jewel, especially since Bad Wolf has made a reappearance."

"Do you think that the Koh-I-Noor is the next target?"

"Perhaps. Most likely, actually. But we'll get them before that becomes an issue."

He leaned back, his eyes following the cityscape. She studied his impassive face before speaking. "Doctor, it could not have been Rose that committed the crime last night." He looked over at her, and she continued, "Isn't that good?"

An effortless grin spread across his face. "Yeah."

When they arrived at their destination, Inspector Smith met the cab and helped Donna out.

"What have we got this time?" the Doctor asked.

"A statue. 'The Physician's Hand,' by a…" The inspector snapped his fingers once the name came to him. "Rassilon. That bloke that lost his mind- thought he was this megalomaniac."

"Wasn't that the man that thought he could shoot bolts of energy out of his metal glove?" Donna smiled at the absurdity.

"The very one," the Doctor answered impatiently. "Can we get on with this now?"

The inspector's mouth tightened. "Very well. Come on, then."

They entered into a foyer where a marble table sat directly under a skylight. The opening only let through a shaft of light that illuminated the table that once displayed the statue. The late morning's light barely altered the atmosphere, which was much like a mausoleum. The vaulted ceilings were covered in frescos of Milton's _Paradise Lost_. Fallen angels writhed against backgrounds of flame, their world burning around them.

Donna involuntarily shivered. "Tell me this is not somebody's regular residence."

The inspector shook his head. "No, they just use this to display their collections. A very stuffy lot."

The Doctor ignored their talk of the surroundings and looked up at the window. "It is almost not fair- it is so easy."

"That's what we thought. A little bit obvious for Bad Wolf, but the message is there on the bookshelf."

The Doctor confusedly mouthed "What?" and ran to the bookshelf. Several books were partially hanging off the shelf, the first letter of each title spelling out 'Bad Wolf.' "This is nigh ridiculous! Bad Wolf would not be so slipshod! We're talking about someone who was able to steal the ancient werewolf statuette under the Torchwood Estate! Bad Wolf got past the infamous Wire, one of the most highly fortified criminal hideaways, to take a stolen prototype of Edison's Kinetograph!" He gestured wildly. "We're talking about one of the best minds I have ever come up against. Not someone who crawls through windows and skylights that a child could pry open!" The Doctor turned back to them, slightly calmer. "Inspector, was the statue previously stolen?"

"No, Rassilon was actually a member of this family. Far removed according to them, of course," Inspector Smith explained. Donna snickered.

"I am positive this is not the work of Bad Wolf!" the Doctor crowed.

"How can you be certain?" Inspector Smith looked uncertainly between the Doctor and Donna.

"Because she never would have even considered this heist, let alone been this sloppy," he folded his arms and grinned at his own brilliance. "She always stole items that she knew were not with their rightful owners. Never something that was legitimately owned."

"Wait," the inspector said. "You know who Bad Wolf is?"

"Of course I do! But this isn't her, so it does not matter in the least!" He scoffed patronizingly.

Inspector Smith threw his gloves down in frustration. "Why are you so blasted pleased? And who is Bad Wolf?"

"She is not the criminal, so why does it matter? Bad Wolf has been out of commission for almost ten years."

While they were starting into their argument, Donna noticed a glint of light wedged under the leg of the display table. Unnoticed by the men, she knelt down and picked up a small dark hairpin. The pin had a round head that was intricately engraved with a Welsh dragon.

The men were still in a standoff. Inspector Smith considered the Doctor and then nodded. "Ooooh. _She_. I noticed you had an eye for Rose Tyler. So is she the thief?"

"She couldn't possibly be. She had an alibi!"

The inspector's eyes narrowed. "And how could you possibly know that? We have not yet talked to anyone at The Valiant."

The Doctor floundered. "Well, I… you see, I needed to ask some things…and…"

Donna, exasperated that the Doctor could not clear himself, said, "Look what I have found!"

Inspector Smith took the hairpin from her. "This is not looking good for Rose Tyler."

"I tell you, it could not have been her!"

"Then tell me how you are so certain of that!"

"I do not answer to you, nor do I have to explain myself…"

"Wouldn't expect to get a word in with such a windy-wallets…"

"Tis a wonder that your superiors can deal with such a zounderkite of a mutton shunter, fumbling your way through…"

The inspector's arm drew back, looking as if he planned to hit the Doctor.

"ENOUGH!" Donna shouted, and they both spun around. After taking a moment to delight in their boyishly guilty looks, she continued, "There is no way that this is Rose Tyler's hairpin."

"And how do you know that?" Inspector Smith asked brusquely.

"Becaaauuse," Donna almost drew the word into two syllables, "it's dark." Both men looked at her incredulously. She raised both her hands and dropped them in exasperation. "You both are completely hopeless. Rose Tyler is _blond_. There is no way that she would be wearing that sort of hairpin. It is supposed to be hidden."

"But the thief could not have been a woman! We know that it was a member of the theatre group because of the greasepaint and the beamsplitting, and it had to be someone at least 1.8 meters tall to reach the top of the door to carve the message." The Doctor then took the hairpin from Inspector Smith. "This is a Welsh dragon design."

Inspector Smith raised a finger in the air, pointing at the Doctor. "Wait. The dark haired actress. She was working with a Welsh troupe, as well."

The Doctor stared at the pin for a moment then threw his arms in the air. His hands then landed on his head and pulled at his hair. "I am so thick, thick, thickety THICK! I've been blind! I know the identity of the Bad Wolf Imposter!"

He bolted out of the room into the street, leaving Inspector Smith and Donna to follow in his wake.

The three arrived at The Valiant and met with a constable posted at the door.

"Have there been any changes since I sent you?" Inspector Smith asked.

"No, sir. No one has been in or out for the past hour."

They entered the theatre and immediately went back towards the dressing rooms. There they found Jack Harkness packing up his room.

"Hello, all! To what do I owe the pleasure?" He made it seem like he was truly glad to see them. "Oh, I need to talk to you all actually. A stagehand of mine has been pinching some of the props. I think he may have a gambling problem…"

The Doctor's face darkened like an oncoming storm. "What do you have over her head?"

Jack looked confusedly to Donna and Inspector Smith.

The Doctor's voice quieted, rumbling in his lowest register. "What blackmail are you using against Rose Tyler?"

Jack's eyes widened and he raised his hands. "Whoa, now. I am not blackmailing a soul."

"What could you possibly have that is forcing her to help you? We know you are the thief! You stole 'The Physician's Hand' just last night!"

Jack gave them his most winning smile. "Is that what you all think? I happen to have an alibi for last night. Talk to Gwyneth."

"Oh, be sure we will." Inspector Smith interjected. "And where is Miss Tyler?"

"She went out to the market early this morning before your boys showed up outside."

"Well, we cannot be too careful can we?" The inspector neatly put himself between the Doctor, who looked about ready to snap, and Jack. He then cocked his head to the side, looking under a bureau. "What is that?" He snatched at a small satchel before Jack could stop him. He opened it to find a burglar's kit.

"I have no idea what that is!" Jack exclaimed. "It isn't mine!"

Mickey pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "This would be much easier if you did not struggle. Would not want to hurt those pretty wrists."

The Doctor walked up to the still-struggling Jack. "Oh, I forgot." He pulled out the hairpin. "Lose something?"

Jack's face blanched for a second, and the Doctor smiled ruefully. "That's what I thought."

As they were leading Jack out the door, Gwyneth ran up to them. "Jack!"

"It's all right, Sweetheart. You'll be safe." Two constables led Jack outside. Gwyneth's lips trembled, though she kept holding her head high. She looked between the three of them. "I suppose you want to take me, as well."

"Yes, ma'am. We'll want to question you." The inspector took pity on the woman and waved her ahead. "You can go with him." She quickly ran out after the men.

Inspector Smith turned to the Doctor. "I do still want to question Rose Tyler when she returns."

"As do I."

The inspector's look was longsuffering. "Very well."

Donna pulled on her shawl. "Well, I suppose there's no need for me. I may go and see Granddad." The Doctor nodded. Donna walked towards the door and then turned around. "I wonder why he did it? He's the head of a successful group of actors. Surely he did not need the money."

The Doctor shrugged. "True motive can only be revealed by the perpetrator."

Donna nodded. She went to open the door, and a constable burst into the room. "Inspector Smith! You must come now, sir!"

"Easy now, what's happened?"

"Only in the last half hour, sir. I would have never believed it!"

"What, man?" The inspector bellowed.

The constable became timid. "It is the diamond, sir. That Cory…"

"The Koh-I-Noor." The Doctor corrected.

"Well, sir, it's been stolen."


	9. Part Nine

The inspector sent the Doctor and Donna home, saying they should come in the next day to speak with Jack. He knew he would be wrapped up in the Koh-I-Noor case for the rest of the day, though just because all inspectors would be on high alert considering the nature of the theft.

The entire cab ride home was spent in silence. Donna did not speak, as the Doctor was in one of his rare moods where short of being on fire, he would not acknowledge her. She knew it was best to just leave him be, especially upon the revelation that it was most likely Bad Wolf who stole the Koh-I-Noor.

 _No_ , she thought, her eyes filling with pity for the man in front of her, _it's because he believes it was Rose Tyler._ She slightly shook her head. _Just when he was opening up to the possibility of her…_

The hansom cab stopped and he jumped out without turning to help her out. He ran into the house and slammed the door shut.

The Doctor refused to come out of his study the next day, sending Donna to listen to Jack's interrogation.

She arrived at the headquarters and was led back to a small, windowless room where Inspector Smith was already sitting with Jack. The inspector's face was devoid of emotion, as was Jack's, aside from him flexing his fingers every few seconds.

Inspector Smith stood upon Donna's entrance, and Jack instinctively tried to stand, forgetting his restraints. Jack's smile was tense at the realization. "I guess Scotland Yard does not believe their prisoners should be able to conform to social mores."

"It's quite all right," she assured as she sat beside Inspector Smith.

"Now, Mr. Harkness, what were you doing last night?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Look. We all seem to be halfway intelligent beings here. I will be as honest as possible, but I will not give up who I am working for, nor my motive for working for them."

"He isn't half-blunt is he?" Donna said, partly to the inspector and partly to herself. Jack threw her a glowing smile.

"You know that you have basically given yourself over as the thief. Why hold anything back?" the inspector asked.

Jack's eyes hardened, though the smile had not yet left his face. "Sometimes you are not just protecting yourself." He looked down and set his jaw.

"It is that woman, isn't it?" Donna inquired, quietly. "She is in trouble and you're protecting her."

Jack met her eyes but did not respond.

The inspector's face softened a little, but he continued with his questions. "What part did Rose Tyler play in all of this?"

Jack scoffed. "Her? She was just a planted alibi. And a poor one, at that."

Inspector Smith's brow crinkled in puzzlement. "What do you mean a 'planted alibi'?"

"I mean she did not even know what I was doing. She was just told to be in certain places at _certain times_ to be able to vouch for me. Simplest job in the world, and she couldn't."

"And for whom is she working?" The inspector pressed, frustration slowly becoming more evident.

"Nah-ah." Jack tutted. "You're not going to pull me into that trap. Go ask her yourself."

"We will, as soon as we find her."

"Find her?"

"The Koh-I-Noor diamond was stolen."

Jack looked expectantly at both of them. "And what does that have to do with Rose Tyler?"

"You mean that was not in the plan?"

"I told you, Rose was just a fall girl. A person to make sure that I always had an alibi."

Donna shifted her head, perplexed. "You don't know she's gone, do you?"

"She's gone?" Jack's eyes widened. His eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, fear filling the normally jovial blue depths. He suddenly looked down muttering, "Now you'll never find her."

"What? What do you mean?" the inspector asked.

"I'm not saying another bloody word." Jack declared firmly.

Inspector Smith leaned in on his elbows. "What has got you so scared all of a sudden?"

Jack huddled in on himself, an odd position for the outgoing, confident man. "If only you knew." He leaned back, slowly shaking his head from side to side. "You would be staying as far away as humanly possible."

The inspector tried for several more minutes to get a word out of the man, but he was too frightened to give away another detail. Donna rose to leave, and then turned back and gently patted Jack on the shoulder. He looked up at her questioningly. Her lips pulled up in a gesture of acknowledgement. He allowed a small smile in return and then spoke. "Will you make sure Gwyneth is all right?"

Donna squeezed his hand. "Of course I will."

After making sure that Gwyneth was being cared for at a nearby retired-constable's home, she called for a cab to take her back to 221B Baker Street. While on the ride home, she allowed herself to dwell on the particulars of the case. _What could possibly have that man so terrified?_ Jack seemed like the type who would go into a skirmish, guns blazing, without batting an eye. And where was Rose? Jack had seemed to resign her to a grim fate. Was she in danger? Worse, had she already met some sort of doom? _What would the Doctor do if something happened to Rose?_ She shook her head, trying to clear her head of the bleak possibilities.

Donna came back to her home to see that all the lights were out and no fires were built. _He must still be sulking in his room._ She lit a few of the lamps and walked back to his study. The door was locked. Being a companion of the Doctor did have its advantages, and Donna pulled out a hairpin to begin picking the lock, not wanting him to necessarily be privy to her presence. The bolt clicked, and she slowly opened the door to keep it from creaking. Her jaw dropped as she took in the sight before her.

It looked like a massive explosion had wracked the room. Almost all of the furniture had been overturned. The Doctor's chemical vials were spilt, staining the Persian rug. Papers were strewn about, leaving her little room to walk inside. The Doctor was splayed upon the chaise lounge, where it looked like he had finally passed out from sheer exhaustion. He was still in the clothes he had worn the day before. Dark circles stained purple under his eyes and thick stubble covered most of his face and neck. She looked around for the blanket that usually hung haphazardly over the back of the lounge and found it balled up underneath. The lone survivor of the Doctor's rampage. She covered him up with it and exited, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Donna did not expect the Doctor to be up the next morning, but he was in the kitchen with toast already on the table. He was in fresh clothes and had shaved. His face was completely blank, as if he had finally found a way to erase those bothersome emotions. There was a cycle to his moods that she had learned in her time working with him. He would fly into a passion, always behind closed doors, and then a sulk. After the sulk came the disembodied logic that she had found to be utterly unbearable.

She poured herself some tea, not wanting to ruin her breakfast with the conflict she was bracing herself for. The only way to get past the logic was with a full barrage. The Doctor may have quite a few verbal cannons, but Donna was not without her own arsenal.

She decided to test the waters- he was munching on a piece of toast and could not immediately retort. "So, you going to ask me what happened in that interview?"

He brushed her off with a wave of his hand. "I already knew what was going to be said, or not be said, I should say. That's why I sent you as a gesture for Scotland Yard."

Her jaw dropped. "What do you mean you already knew? And what _gesture_?"

"Not going to waste my time with something where I know the outcome- but I also want to keep in their good graces. Thus, I have you." He shrugged and took another piece of toast, not making eye contact.

"Oi! What about _my_ time? And how could you have known what Mr. Harkness was going to say?"

"I knew that he was working for someone, and he is the distinct personality type to hire for that sort of job. Will not bend or break when his mind is set, at least, not easily. I knew you wouldn't get anything out of him. At least not on the first day." He crossed his arms and smiled so smugly that she had to rein in her impulse to connect her palm with his smirk.

"Oh, so you knew his connection with Rose Tyler?"

A dark look passed over his face before he answered. "She was under his spell, one way or another. She was not being blackmailed."

She groaned and rolled her eyes. " _Typical_ male. You think that she was in love with him? You idiot. He's in love with Gwyneth!"

"She was still working with him. And just because the man was not in love with her, doesn't mean…"

"I have never heard a more ridiculous sentence in my life! And working with you makes that statement doubly meaningful! He said she was just a planted alibi. That she had no idea what she was doing!"

"Just shows how little Jack Harkness knows about the entity he is working for." He pulled his feet from the table and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

She shook her head. "Doctor, when he heard that Rose was gone he got scared. Like he knew that meant someone was after her."

"Anybody who is able to bring the Bad Wolf into submission is fearsome, indeed. Anyone who can force Bad Wolf out of retirement and into stealing something such as the Koh-I-Noor?" He let his statement taper off as he stood to gaze out the window.

"You act as if you are sure it was her."

"There is no way it could be anyone else."

She looked at him disappointedly. "That may very well be so. But I pity the girl for being naïve enough to hope that you would believe in her."

He whirled around, his eyes showing the first life in them that she had seen since she entered the kitchen. "She is the criminal in this situation, Donna, not me! I was foolish enough to think for a moment that she really had changed. She played me for a novice!"

She knew that his pride had been wounded, but now she suspected that his heart had also been broken. All of the previous fight and indignation melted away as she looked at the broken man with the eyes of a lost little boy in front of her. She stood and walked over and took him into her arms before he could protest. He kept his arms to his sides at first, then she felt him relax and accept the comfort, albeit briefly. He then pushed her back, extricating himself from her embrace.

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to look her in the eye. She shook her head at his stubbornness. "You don't know what her motivations were, Doctor. I may not be able to see the smallest detail like you, but I have been around a bit. And I do not believe she was trying to deceive you. You told me that 'True motive can only be revealed by the perpetrator.' So give her the chance to do so, all right? She might still surprise you."

He finally met her look, but did not say anything. She nodded and left to go retrieve the morning post. As she walked past the Doctor's study she noticed a window open. _Thinks that he can just leave windows open in the middle of winter, and then he wants to complain about the cold and wears more layers than an onion._ As she went to shut the window she noticed something sitting in the sill. It an ornately gilded object, like a watch without a face. Underneath was a sealed letter bearing the inscription, "Doctor." She picked up the object and turned it in her hand, the window forgotten for the moment. She walked back into the kitchen where she saw the Doctor looking for his marmalade.

"Doctor, this was sitting in your windowsill."

He turned and looked at the golden object in her hand. His face paled and he took it from her.

"Doctor?" she asked, her worry growing. "What is that?"

He was still turning it around in his hands, fingertips tracing the grooves.

"Doctor." she said, finally breaking into the Doctor's thoughts. "Are you going to tell me what that is?"

"It's an astrolabe." He shook his head slightly before continuing. "But not any astrolabe. This is the last item from the Bad Wolf burglaries all those years ago- the one thing that was never returned."


	10. Part Ten

The Doctor looked up and realized that Donna had left the room. A half-smile pulled up at one side of his mouth. _She always knows_. He fumbled with the seal and opened the letter. It was written in a feminine hand, but was not necessarily neat, and was obviously written in haste.

 _Doctor,_

 _I know I am most likely the last person you want to hear from, but I hope that you will at least read this letter. I want to explain my actions of the past few days. The last ten years, really._

 _You were right. You were always right. I am the Bad Wolf._

 _It is odd to see that actually written. I created myself, I suppose, but it seems lifetimes ago._

 _As for the why of what I did as a youth- I did not have the most ideal upbringing. My father died when I was a baby, and my mother was forced to raise me on her own. We scraped by as best we could. My mother would work as a maid, washerwoman, even would style ladies' hair to make ends meet._

 _This is not to incite your pity, just an explanation_ _of my previous actions._

 _When I was fifteen, our landlord began insisting on much higher payments. We simply could not meet them and were about to be evicted. I had a friend, a boy that I had grown up with- James Stone. He was a thief, but one that was deeply ingrained into London's underworld. He was able to provide for his family, and I was not going to resign myself to a much worse fate to make money._

 _I began to sneak to listen to James' transactions, as I could. I know what I was doing was wrong, but I felt less bad stealing back items that had previously been stolen. My first time was so shoddy. I am, to this day, shocked I got away with it. The more I did it, however, the easier it became. I realized I was good at it. It became a game of sorts, leaving those little messages, watching the law enforcement bungle it all each time. Not the most subtle of tactics for a thief, but I will plead the folly of youth._

 _Then, one day, there you were. A man asking all of the right questions._

 _There were times I thought you would be standing there waiting for me at the scene of my next crime, which fascinated me._

 _That was the reason I couldn't stay away._

 _Actually, that was only a small part of the reason. The real reason was because you believed in me. No one had ever seen me as more than a poor girl from one of the poorest parts of London. Your faith made me believe that I was truly capable of anything. That I was someone of value. Words could never express how much that has meant to me over the years._

 _What I told you was true- I did stop. I had gathered enough money to buy my mother a little house and had planned on returning to her. That day when I looked for you at my last crime, I was looking for you to say goodbye._

 _After I went home to my mother, I tried to follow your advice as best I could. I devoured every book I could get my hands on. I was eventually allowed to sit in on courses at Oxford. It was one of the happiest times of my life. I should have known, however, that it would come with a price._

 _It was there at Oxford that I had a class in planetary study with a Professor Moriarty. Though he had a nickname around the campuses that he is better-known by- the Master. He knew, Doctor. He somehow knew who I was and what I had done. I came to find that he is like a spider, a spider whose web touches every dark corner of London, of England. He wanted to use his knowledge of my past against me- he wanted me to come and work for him. I resisted as much as I could. Oh, how I tried, but he eventually resorted to threatening my mother._

 _The Master insisted that I do just "one little job for him." Which I am sure you have long figured out was always the Koh-I-Noor. Doctor, he knows of you. Is obsessed with you, actually. He wanted the Bad Wolf to lure you to him._

 _Now, as for Mr. Harkness- Jack was a patsy. He has no idea who I really am, no idea of my connection to Bad Wolf. He was told by the Master what to steal and what messages to leave. Doctor, please do not be too hard on Jack. Gwyneth had been married to a man with a penchant for gambling. He brought tremendous debt upon their heads with the wrong people. Gwyneth's husband died, but death is never enough to stop the Master. His agents began to press her for the money. Jack fell in love with her and offered to help clear her debt. He was committing these crimes to distract you all from the real target._

 _I was supposed to just act as a planted alibi for Jack. And I succeeded, until that night where I was out much later than anticipated._

 _I wouldn't have missed that moment on the steps for the world._

 _The Master found out and panicked. I had to steal the diamond earlier than planned. But I am afraid that even though the Master now has the diamond, I am still in danger. I know too much._

 _Doctor, please do not try to find me._ _As far as you are concerned, I may as well be in another universe._

 _DO NOT underestimate the Master. He never actually dirties his own hands with the criminal activities, so there is no way to even trace the theft of the Koh-I-Noor back to him. Not even with this confession. He is terrible- has eyes and ears everywhere. I will be on the run for a very long time._

 _The astrolabe is the only thing that I never returned. I knew that it had been stolen from its rightful Ottoman owners in the first place, and there was no way to return it to them. I want you to have it._

 _Destroy this letter after you finish it. Do not even let Miss Noble know. Please, do not try to go against the Master. I want you safe- my Doctor._

 _I hope you will one day be able to forgive me._

 _Rose Tyler_

The Doctor fell back into the chair behind him, fist clenched around the now-crumpled letter. Donna flew back into the kitchen. "Doctor! Doctor! We must go at once! Jack Harkness is dead!

They arrived at the holding cells to see that a fellow inmate had stabbed Jack Harkness. The Doctor looked at the body of the young man as Inspector Smith explained how the killing was absolutely unprovoked. Donna tried her best to console Gwyneth.

The inspector's words began to fade into the background. The Doctor knew this was the work of the Master. The Master did not want Jack Harkness to talk- had maybe thought Jack had already divulged too much. He was horrified to think that one day it could be Rose lying before him. To never see that smile again or never see the light in her eyes… The Doctor vowed to himself, over the body of the American, that he would one day defeat the Master.

 ** _Epilogue_**

Wilfred Mott had just packed up his stall for the night. He blew into his cupped hands, trying his best to warm them in this unseasonably cold night. _Late spring. More like early winter!_ He turned on to Baker St, nearing the house where his granddaughter lived above the Doctor.

As Wilf got closer, he saw something move upon the roof. It looked like a woman in black with a man's trousers on! Who could have believed! She stood, briefly silhouetted against the moon and then disappeared into the night. Wilf shook his head. _Must be getting old. Women on rooftops. And in trousers, no less! No more toddy to keep you warm, Wilfred Mott._ He swatted his hand in dismissal and started back towards his home.


End file.
